History Repeats
by rizzlestiva
Summary: One shot in which Amelia gets the courage to tell Betty about the Unicorn baby.


Amelia & BettyI

I always felt I needed a scene where Amelia told Betty about her past. Maybe this is how it happened. I own nothing, all characters belong to Shonda

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Amelia and Betty had just arrived home for the night. Amelia carried a sleeping Leo in from the car, tucking him into his crib and making sure the baby monitor was on before heading back to the living room where Betty was sat on the couch.

"Hey, you look tired. Are you okay?" Amelia asked Betty, sitting down next to her.

"I'm clean if that's what you're asking, I'm just thinking. Are we waiting for Owen to get back before we have dinner?" The teen replied, trying her hardest to subtly change the subject, something that the older women noticed but decided to overlook.

"Owen won't be home tonight, he is on call so he'll probably just stay at the hospital. Want to order takeout?"

Together they decided they would order Chinese, something that both women would enjoy. It doesn't take long before the baby in the next room began to stir. Betty goes to stand up and head go his room but Amelia takes over.

"Rest for a bit. If food gets here there is cash on the surface, make sure to give a tip." She mentions, receiving a nod from the younger girl from across the room. While Amelia is attempting to get Leo to settle she hears the door go but allows Betty to deal with it. 10 minutes later she heads through to see Betty putting food onto plates.

"I didn't know whether you wanted to eat from the containers or on plates so I decided on plates, that's how my parents would do it. I hope that's okay."

"That is great. We can eat on the couch or at the table, your choice. Water, juice or Soda to drink?"

She pours two cups of soda before heading back through seeing Betty has relocated to the couch and moving to join her.

They eat in a relatively comfortable silence, a few small words here and there but not a whole lot of conversation. When they are finished Amelia places their plates onto the coffee table rather than taking them to the kitchen. She has been watching Betty carefully, the girl had been unusually quiet and Amelia wanted to make sure she hadn't been using. There were no signs of drug use which reinforced what Betty had told her earlier about being clean. Amelia knows Betty is fairly introverted but the extent to which she has been zoned out tonight is unusual.

"What are you thinking about?" Amelia asks causing the younger girl to lift her head.

"My life, it's a mess. I am 16, I have a kid and a drug problem. I'm living with a couple of doctors who happen to be looking after my child. It just all happened so fast."

"Drugs will do that, they make time feel different. I know it's a little weird staying here with Owen and myself but you're okay with it right?" Amelia checks, suddenly feeling overly conscious of the fact that she hasn't really checked Betty was okay with their living arrangements.

"You and Owen have been great. You are great." Betty quickly corrects herself before continuing. "Amelia, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, what's up."

"You and Owen are amazing with Leo, and you were together for a while and I guess I was wondering why you fostered a kid, rather than have a child like a normal couple."

"I wasn't ready. I couldn't put myself through that, I was staying sober. I guess I didn't trust myself to have a child. Owen desperately wanted a child so we parted ways and he got Leo. I wasn't planning on sticking around to help, it just happened." Amelia worded carefully, watching the young girl next to her.

"What made you change your mind?"

"You did. When I first saw you, you reminded me of a younger version of myself. I wanted to help you, Leo just came alongside you. You should be in his life, stay clean for him." Amelia explained carefully, making sure she hadn't taken things too far.

The rest of the evening passed fairly easily. Betty didn't ask anymore questions and Amelia tried not to push. It seemed Leo was down for good so they decided to go get some sleep while they had the opportunity. Amelia did a quick check of the house, ensuring all the windows and doors were locked before checking on betty, making sure she has everything she needs. As Amelia is leaving Betty's room, she is called back.

"Amelia, I realised I never really said thank you, for taking me in. I just wanted to say I appreciate everything you've done." Amelia's heart swells in her chest. She knew the girl meant a lot to her but the overwhelming feeling of love was unexpected. This is maternal love. She enjoyed taking care of Leo but she never felt like a mother. This feeling had only occurred to her once before, when she realised she was pregnant with Christopher. Nothing had prepared her for the wave of memories that hit her. Her eyes fill, tears threatening to fall but she manages to control them.

"Good night, wake me if you need me." She says, nodding at Betty as though to say I understand why you're thanking me but it's not necessary. As she closes the door she allows her tears to fall. She makes her way to her and Owen's bedroom, taking a tissue from the bedside cabinet and getting changed for bed. Feelings of love are joyous, but Amelia struggled to understand why she was feeling so down. She missed her baby, but that was a feeling that she struggled with every single day. Betty was different. She wasn't Amelia's child, but she loved her as though she was. She needed Betty to stay sober, losing her isn't an option.

It was around 3 am when Leo wakes up. Betty was the first to wake and go tend to his needs. She gave him some formula and held him until he falls back asleep before making her way back to her room. While in the corridor she heard mumbling coming from Amelia's room. When she moved closer towards the door, she worked out that the words were nonsense which suggested she was dreaming. The mumbles began to turn into whimpers which lead Betty to knock on the door and open it a little.

"Amelia, are you okay?"

"Betty, what's wrong is Leo okay?" Amelia replied, sitting up in a panic.

"He's just gone back to sleep, he's fine. I think you were having a nightmare, I wanted to make sure you were okay." The younger girl replied, watching Amelia pull her legs up towards her chest.

"I'm okay, sorry if I worried you." Amelia said, still a little shaky and trying to hold back tears. Betty made her way closer to the bed, closing the door behind her as to not wake the baby in the next room.

"Nightmares suck. Do you want to talk about it?" Betty asks, fidgeting with her hands.

"You can come sit on the bed y'know. I'm not going to freak out." Amelia laughed a little, not because it was funny but more as a way to cover her nerves.

"When I was detoxing you said the nightmares will get better. Do they really?" Betty asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"In my experience yes, this is the first one I've had in months." Amelia reassures her. Of course there is no way to be certain but a little optimism never hurt anybody.

"Do you want me to leave?" Betty asks after a few moments had passed. She didn't want to intrude, or upset the one person who had truly cared for her through all the troubles life had thrown her way.

"You can stay if you want, or you can go back to bed. It is the middle of the night so I don't expect you to sit in here or anything." Amelia told her. After a nightmare Amelia hated the thought of being alone but she is the adult and she knows she has to be responsible.

When Amelia wakes up next she looks to her side to find Betty had fallen asleep next to her. Checking her watch, she sees it is a little after 6:30. Leo would soon wake so she decided to get up and take the baby monitor allowing Betty to get a little more rest. Amelia hadn't expected to fall back asleep, after a nightmare she normally ends up out of bed and doing chores to busy her mind. Maybe the reason that it wasn't so bad was Betty had managed to wake her before things got too bad. Or maybe it was due to having someone who understood as company. She was unsure but was grateful for the extra rest anyway.

Leo began to stir not long after Amelia was out of bed. She got him clean and dressed before giving him a bottle to start the day. It didn't take long until Betty had joined them, she looked to Amelia, as if to check that she was okay after the events of the night.

"I'm sorry I disturbed your night, I hope you managed to get a little sleep." Amelia expressed, truly feeling bad for taking away from the girls well needed rest.

"Its fine. I get it. Sometimes not being alone helps." Betty tells her, showing her understanding.

"I know, but I'm the adult here, I should be the one holding it together."

"Amelia, I know I'm a teenager but we both know I'm emotionally much older. I ran away so I could take drugs and ended up pregnant with the kid of a guy I hardly know. I mean who does that?"

"I did."

Amelia hadn't realised she had replied out loud until it was too late. She hadn't intended to tell Betty about her history in LA but having dreamt about her baby it must have been fresh on her mind. She mentally cursed herself for not filtering, a skill which she had managed to improve greatly in her recent years.

"Amelia, are you okay? What are you talking about?" Betty asks, bringing Amelia's attention back to the current situation.

"We are more alike than you know. You'd be surprised how similar." Amelia replies carefully.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want but I am the last person who would judge you." Betty reassures the women to whom she looks up to.

"It's not you, it's just that people here don't really know. I mean Owen knows most of it, Alex knows but my sisters don't. I am not ready for them to know." Amelia explains and the younger girl nods her head, showing she understands the importance of what the older women is about to tell her. "I was living in LA when I last relapsed. I met a guy and we would get high together. At the time I felt like I loved him but now I realise I hardly knew him, it must have been the drugs. One night we planned on getting clean together but he died later that night from an overdose. I managed to get clean with the help of my sister, well my brothers ex wife but she will always be a sister to me. My body was a mess so I guess I didn't have the normal symptoms and didn't realise I was pregnant until much later. When I finally convinced myself go get an ultrasound we found out he had anencephaly - his brain hadn't developed. I donated his organs to save other babies, which was totally illegal because a baby with no brain can't be pronounced brain dead. Letting him go broke me. That's why I couldn't have another baby, I could never replace him."

Betty hands over a box of tissues when Amelia finished talking. She was trying to hold back her tears but it was too much. She had never actually told the whole story out loud. When Owen found out it was a gradual process, one thing at a time. Hearing it all out loud was different. She realised how far she had come.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. For what it matters I don't think you could ever replace him. You went through something most people can't even imagine."

"I know that now. When he died, I thought I would never care for another person that way again. Last night I felt something I hadn't felt since being pregnant with him. I guess it must have triggered the nightmares." Amelia attempts to explain, despite not truly understanding the situation itself.

"Leo could never replace your baby. It doesn't matter how much you love him. It's not possible." Betty attempts to explain.

"I love spending time with Leo but that's not what I'm talking about. I felt it with you. I need you to stay clean. I can't lose another person I love. You need to stay clean for me and Leo."

"I'll try."


End file.
